Why Con Artists were Ecstatic About Being Extradited to Taiwan

Why Con Artists were Ecstatic About Being Extradited to Taiwan
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 8, 2011

Summary: A few months ago Republic of China police escorted hundreds of con artists who committed fraud in Southeast Asia back to Taiwan. When the suspects saw the chartered EVA airliner that was to take them back to Taiwan land, they were ecstatic. They cheered out loud. Authorities on the Mainland mete out far harsher punishment to con artists than authorities on Taiwan. The suspects were confident that being extradited to Taiwan was a "get out of jail free card." Sure enough, the Taichung District Court recently handed down its judgment on the first group of defendants. One of the 26 suspects was given a one year sentence. The rest were given suspended sentences or light fines. Taiwan truly is the "con artist's paradise."

Full Text Below:

A few months ago Republic of China police escorted hundreds of con artists who committed fraud in Southeast Asia back to Taiwan. When the suspects saw the chartered EVA airliner that was to take them back to Taiwan land, they were ecstatic. They cheered out loud. Authorities on the Mainland mete out far harsher punishment to con artists than authorities on Taiwan. The suspects were confident that being extradited to Taiwan was a "get out of jail free card." Sure enough, the Taichung District Court recently handed down its judgment on the first group of defendants. One of the 26 suspects was given a one year sentence. The rest were given suspended sentences or light fines. Taiwan truly is the "con artist's paradise."

Early this year, authorities from Taiwan and the Mainland fought over the right to prosecute a dozen or so con artists. Invoking high-minded concepts such as "sovereignty" and "national dignity," our side precipitated an embarrassing diplomatic crisis with the Philippines. We haggled for months with the Mainland authorities. Only then did we gain custody of the prisoners, who had been extradited to the Mainland. Only then were they transferred to Taiwan. Contrast the controversy then, with the outcome today. Fierce arguments were advanced in a jurisdictional dispute. The only issue appeared to be the lenient treatment of criminals on Taiwan. What kind of impression has our "judicial sovereignty" left on the world?

Fraud on Taiwan is rampant. This fact is well known, both at home and abroad. The justice system on Taiwan condones fraud. This is common knowledge to every member in a confidence ring. Our government applied diplomatic pressure to gain custody over a large number of suspected con artists. The impression we left however, was that we had distorted values. The ruling and opposition parties turned the tug of war into a matter of national dignity. Had they not done this, authorities on the two sides could have used the opportunity to increase cross-Strait cooperation on crime fighting. They could have made sure that con artists would be frightened hence deterred by the harsh penalties meted out by the Mainland authorities. But ideological concerns prevailed. Taiwan remained mired in arguments about sovereignty. The result was a travesty of justice, utterly unacceptable to the citizens of the nation.

To ensure justice, the legal system must keep pace with the times. Con artists do not use physical violence. But they use deceit to deprive people of their life savings. Their victims lose hope. Families are destroyed. Some of their victims may even commit suicide. Can we really dismiss their physical and emotional suffering as trivial? Take the confidence ring uncovered recently for example. It was an organized crime ring. Many of its members were chronic and habitual offenders, with long criminal records. Most of the victims were from the Mainland. But they took their victims for hundreds of millions of RMB. The judges were unable to question the victims. Therefore the perpetrators got off with a slap on the wrist. What sort of narrow-minded, absurd notion of justice is this?

Punishments meted out by the authorities on the Mainland are draconian. By contrast, authorities on Taiwan have greater respect for the rule of law. Human rights are better protected. But in recent years, many trial judges on Taiwan have become corrupt. Their judgments have left the public aghast. They feel the legal system on Taiwan is moving backwards. It is obstructing justice and impeding progress. On Mainland China, acts of fraud involving 200,000 RMB or more are considered felonies, punishable by sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment. Actually on Taiwan, fraud is also punishable by sentences up to five years. But judges usually hand down suspended sentences or impose light fines. No wonder even con artists with PRC status attempt to pass themselves off as Taiwanese. No wonder they want to be tried on Taiwan. The chasm between the justice systems on the two sides is simply too wide.

Con artists tried on Taiwan were let off with a slap on the wrist. Meanwhile several children of Taiwan businessmen who committed robberies in Kunshan, received stiff ten year sentences. These children of Taiwan businessmen were still in school. But on weekends they would arm themselves with knives and rob passers-by. The amount they robbed was only a few hundred RMB. But they were repeat offenders. Therefore their offenses are classified as felonies. The Taiwanese students who committed these robberies did not appear to lack money. What they lacked was respect for the law. They thought of themselves as "Taiwanese students,' superior to local residents. They got drunk and "asked for money" from passersby, "just for kicks." On Taiwan students guilty of similar crimes would probably not be sent to prison. On Mainland China Taiwanese students are accorded special treatment. But because three of the students were 18 years old, they received heavy sentences.

Con artists from Taiwan who defraud their victims of hundreds of millions of RMB received a slap on the wrist. Reckless Taiwanese youths who committed robberies on the Mainland received heavy sentences. This illustrates the chasm between the legal systems on the two sides of the Strait. This illustrates the chasm in their perception of what constutites justice. This chasm should be bridged by means of exchanges, and by learning from each others' strengths. This will enable the two sides to arrive at a happy medium. This will prevent differences in their legal systems from creating a haven for criminals. It will prevent demagogues from using politics to disguise our social problems.

Several hundred con artists cheered when they learned they were being extradited to Taiwan. This shows that the legal system on Taiwan is a toothless tiger. The government may strive for diplomatic face. But it cannot provide people with the justice they demand. So-called "dinosaur judges" cavalierly invoke "judicial sovereignty." They leave people appalled and speechless. Does our justice system have nothing to say about the Taiwanese students who received heavy sentences on the Mainland?

當詐騙犯歡呼遣返的謎底揭曉
【聯合報╱社論】 2011.11.08

我國警方數月前從東南亞押解數百名詐欺犯回台，許多嫌犯看到長榮專機來接都喜出望外，大聲歡呼。他們料定：以兩岸司法對待詐欺犯的差異，回台形同「減刑」的保證。果然，台中地院最近審結一批人犯，廿六人之中僅一人判刑一年，其餘不是緩刑就是易科罰金。台灣果然是「詐欺犯的天堂」。

回顧年初，我國為了和大陸爭奪十幾名詐欺犯，在「主權」和「國格」的高調下，與菲律賓鬧出一場難堪的外交風波；後來和中共交涉數月，才將一干遭遣送大陸人犯全數接回。對比今天的結局，爭得面紅耳赤的管轄權風波，似乎只是追求台灣司法對罪犯輕縱而已，這樣的「司法主權」給社會留下何種觀感？

台灣詐欺犯行徑囂張惡劣，是國內外皆知的事實；而台灣司法寬縱詐欺犯，則是詐欺集團無人不曉的「常識」。正因如此，政府不惜用外交爭議來換取大批詐欺犯的輕縱，恐怕只留下「價值錯亂」的印象。當時，若不是在野黨將此事上綱成國格問題，兩岸可能有機會在合作「打擊犯罪」上取得更多進展，讓詐欺犯懾於大陸的嚴刑重罰，而知所收斂。但由於意識形態作祟，台灣陷入主權的口水爭議，結果卻得到了國民情感上難以接受的司法表現，讓人扼腕。

我們必須嚴肅面對的是，司法應當如何與時俱進以維護社會正義的問題。詐欺犯雖非使用暴力，卻以詐術騙得對方的畢生積蓄，使受害者灰心喪志甚至家破人亡；如此，對人們的身心戕害能說不嚴重嗎？以這次破獲的詐欺集團為例，不僅是集團犯罪，許多人更是前科累累的慣犯；雖然受害者多為大陸民眾，但金額高達數億。法官若因無法訊問被害人，即輕率對嫌犯網開一面，這體現的又是什麼樣狹隘且荒謬的正義呢？

與嚴刑峻罰的大陸比較，台灣法治相對健全，對人權的保護也更周密。然而，近年台灣不少法官在審判中體現的錯亂價值，卻一再讓人覺得荒謬與倒退，已成了扭曲社會公義、阻滯社會進步的因素。在中國大陸，只要詐騙之不法所得超過廿萬人民幣，就屬十年以上重罪，甚至可高達無期徒刑；其實，在台灣詐欺亦可判至五年徒刑，但法官卻選擇了緩刑或易科罰金。難怪連詐欺集團內的大陸公民都想冒充台灣人，希望來台受審，因為兩岸司法天平太過傾斜、太不成比例。

值得注意的是，正當台灣詐欺犯全獲輕判之際，大陸傳出數名台商子弟在昆山犯下搶劫罪而遭求處十年重刑的消息，令人震驚。這些台商子弟都還是在校學生，卻在周末出外遊樂時持刀行搶路人，得款不過數百人民幣，卻因連續犯罪被當成重案辦理。這些台生集體行搶，看來並非缺錢，而不過是缺乏法治觀念；或者平日仗恃著「台生」的身分，自以為高當地居民一等，因而在酒後為了「好玩」向路人「要錢」。若在台灣，學生犯了類似的罪行，或許不致送進監牢；但在大陸，就算台生特別受到禮遇，因其中三人已滿十八歲，和解後仍遭公訴重判。

從詐騙了數億元的罪犯在台僅受輕判，對比台商子弟輕率行搶而遭大陸司法機關重懲，凸顯的不僅是兩岸司法體制的巨大傾斜，也是兩岸人民對法治認知的巨大差異。這樣的差異，應當透過交流互相截長補短，找尋自己社會最佳的平衡點，而不是利用身分把司法變成罪犯的避風港，或用政治來迴避、扭曲真實的社會問題。

數百名詐欺犯歡呼遣台的謎底揭曉，證實台灣司法是無牙的老虎，也顯示政府拚命爭取的外交顏面，結果卻無法維護民眾期待的正義。恐龍法官們如此漫不經心地行使「司法主權」，豈不令人瞠目結舌？試問：相對於那些被判重刑的台商子弟，我們的司法有什麼話要說嗎？